Memorise: So the people of Nineveth
believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of
them even to the least of them. Jonah 3:5
Read: Jonah 3:1-10 (King James
Version)
NINEVEH’S FASTING EXPERIENCE – Sunday May 14th 2017
1 And
the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great
city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
3 So Jonah arose, and went unto
Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding
great city of three days' journey.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the
city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall
be overthrown.
6 For word came unto the king of
Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and
covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and
published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let
neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor
drink water:
8 But let man and beast be covered with
sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his
evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and
repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they
turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that
he would do unto them; and he did it not.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy
21-22, Jeremiah 31:1-14, Hymn: Sing hymn 6
MESSAGE:
Fasting is a spiritual exercise
every believer should often engage in because of the several benefits that can
be derived from it. When the Lord was teaching His disciples about fasting
during His earthly ministry, what He said to them was “When you fast” and not
“If you fast” (Matthew 6:16). The
Lord’s choice of words shows that He takes it as a given that you will have to
fast. However, if you engage in a spiritual exercise such as fasting but lack
an understanding of the basis for doing so, you may not be able to optimise
your gains from it. In other words, it is important to know why you should fast
and to know what you stand to gain from fasting. Knowledge plays a key role
here.
Why should you fast? Prayer and fasting can help to restore
spiritual fervour in your relationship with God. You can fast whenever you feel
estranged or separated from God, whenever your heart is spiritually cold or
when you sense that you lack sincerity in your humility. You can also fast as a
mark of repentance, and to seek pardon and restoration from sin. Open Heavens
Daily Devotional 2017 Sunday 14 May 2017:-Nineveh’s fasting experience. Sin
separates anyone from God, but if fasting is properly engaged, the estranged
fellow can be drawn into God’s presence for mercy. If you take a look at
Nineveh, you will see the effect of fasting in action. The people of Nineveh
lived a very riotous life. They were engaged in several atrocities and
abominable acts they called for God’s fiery judgment, like it happened in Sodom
and Gomorrah. However, because of His righteous and merciful nature, God sent
Jonah to go and warn them of His intention to destroy them because of their
wickedness. As soon as Jonah sounded the warning, the people of Nineveh
received the word and immediately declared a national fast. Nobody was exempted
from this fast: the king, the nobles and even all their animals joined in the
fast. Besides the fast from food and water, they abstained from all those
things that provoked God’s anger, humbled themselves and cried out to God for
mercy, and He heard them. Jonah 3:10 says, “And God saw their works, that they
turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that
he would do unto them; and he did it not.”
If you realise you are far from
God, you can set aside the things that gives the body pleasure; fast and pray
earnestly, and asking God for His mercy and you will see His hand. If done
according to heaven’s pattern, fasting is an exercise that can easily cause God
to notice you as a candidate of His mercy. How often do you fast?
Key Point
Fasting is a work of faith because
it takes faith to fast and pray to a God you cannot physically see.
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